August 15, 2017

“Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:24 The Message

A fresh start .. created new .. restored .. and generous. That’s the God of the Bible. He suffers  from an incurable case of making new out of old … restoring what has been discarded .. and redeeming what is considered worthless. Maybe you fit in one of those categories ..or used to. If so .. you know exactly what has happened inside of you. Jesus has changed everything. You’re still the same old you .. but old has been replaced with new. There’s room to breathe .. to see hope .. to love .. and start living. It’s a gift and now you know it. You’ll still do the same things you did yesterday but now they are seen inside of Jesus life. That life is in you and some of those things will begin to lose interest. Why now?  Because now you know how much your life is worth and you’re free to start living a life you’ve always wanted to live: free .. really free .. grace free. Those old things? Trying to live by your wits .. wondering how you were going to make it .. putting up a good front? No more. You don’t have to live that way anymore. Jesus is shaping His life in you and inviting you to live out of a life that will never fade .. run out .. or give up on you. Yeah .. it’s that real in a rapidly fading world. What’s real in you can only be defined in Christ. It’s doesn’t matter what the world around you says is important. Christ has claimed you .. made you new .. and given you a gift-life. You can’t walk from that. Why would you? You’re new in Christ. It only takes a moment …

“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!  2 Corinthians 5:17 The Message

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